Improvement in wool-combing machines



Patented June 26.1877.

WITNE SES.

UNITED STATES FFICE.

LEONARD SMITH, OF BRADFORD, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN WOOL-COMBING MACHINES.

Spcciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 192,352, dated J une26, 1877; application filed March 15, 1877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LEONARD SMITH, of thecity of Bradford, England, have invented certannew and usefulImprovements in Wool- Combing Machines; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing specification, taken in con nection with the drawings forminga part of the same, is a clear, true, and complete description thereof.

My invention consists, in part, of the combination, with suitablecombing and drawingoff77 mechanism, of an auxiliary comb and atransferring-comb or lifter, whereby the noil7 remaining on the maincomb is transferred to the auxiliary comb, and the long wool remainingin the noil presented in a position convenient for its removal.

My invention further consists in the combination, with the main combingmechanism and the main drawing-off mechanism, of an auxiliary comb, atransferring-comb, and an auxiliary drawing-or' mechanism, whereby thenoil is transferred from the main comb to the auxiliary comb, and thelong wool withdrawn therefrom. y

To more particularly describe my invention I will refer to theaccompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l represents, in top View, somuch of a well-known type of combing-machine with my improvementsattached as is desirable for illustrating my invention. Fig. 2represents the same in end view, with a portion of the main comb cutaway. Fig. 3 represents, in elevation, a .portion of the transferringmechanism in detail. Fig. 4. represent-s similar transferring .mechanisminvolving a modification of the operative details.

The machine shown in the drawings has a circular comb, as at A, which isrotated in the usnal'manner. The drawing-off mechanism, as at B,containsno novel features. No specific description of these portions of themachine is required for the purpose of this speciiication, because myimprovements result in the withdrawalof the long wool remaining in thenoil on the main comb after the usual combing operations, and thedrawing off of the main portion of the long wool, and therefore anypracticable combing and drawing-od mechanism may be profitably employedin bcombination with the additional mechanism,

hereinafter described, in accordance with my invention.

It will bey understood that the main comb A revolves in the directionindicated by the arrow thereon,'and that the teeththereof, as theyapproach the drawing-off mechanism at B, are laden with wool, and that,after the teeth have passed that point, they carry only the noils andsuch extraneous matter as remain in the wool, together with the longwool which the drawing-offl mechanism has failed to control andwithdraw.

The frame of the machine vadjacent to the side on which thepartially-stripped teeth are traveling is so constructed that itsupports the novel mechanism which, in combination, embodies the mainfeature of my invention, and power for operating it may be derived fromany of the adjacent shafting of the machine, asmay be deemed mostconvenient. C denotes an auxiliary comb. In this instance it is circularin form, and, when employed with a circular main comb of about four feetin diameter, it is preferably about sixteen inches in diameter. hangsthe main comb at one portion of its periphery. It revolves in a planeparallel with that of the main comb. At the point of overhanging. itsteeth move in thesame direction as the teeth of the main comb, and atthe same speed. The'teeth of vthe auxiliary and main combs are parallelwith each other, and their points, although closely adjacent, do notengage with each other, so that the noil re maining on the teeth of themain comb may be lifted and transferred directly to the teeth of theauxiliary comb While both combs are revolving. The teeth of theauxiliary comb are similar to thoseion the main comb, and may bearranged in one or two rows with but little variation in results,although I prefer,

generally, flat strong teeth setin a single row, with about thirteenteeth to the inch. Although good results are attainable without heatingthe auxiliary comb, it is desirable so to do in some cases, and steam orburning gas may be employed for that purpose.

As shown in the drawings, the auxiliary This auxiliary comb over 2 Yraea comb C is mounted on the vertical shaft a, which is in thisinstance driven by gearing, properly speedcd, from the maindriving-shaft of the machine, as at b. (Shown in Fig. 2.)

It will be readily seen that the comb C may be hollow, steam-tight, andprovided with an axial steam-pipe connection at4 its upper side for theintroduction of steam, and that the shaft on which it is mounted mayy beprovided with a small axial opening for the discharge of water resultingfrom condensation, and thus secure any desired degree of heat for thecomb. D denotes an automatic transferring-comb or lifter, whichtransfers the noil from the teeth of the main comb to the auxiliarycomb. The head of the lifter is shown at e. It is provided with teeth,which project horizon tally toward the teeth of the combi), whichoverhang the teeth of the main comb. y

Various mechanical devices may be employed for imparting to the lifterthe requisite movement, and the head of the lifter may also be variouslyconstructed. It is only requisite that the lifter have the capacity toproject; its teeth sufficiently to properly engage with the noil in themain comb, and lift it therefrom into the auxiliary comb and leave itthere, the main and auxiliary combs being meanwhile in motion.

In Fig. 3 the lifter is shown to be actuated be a cam at d ou the mainshaft b, a lever, e, to which the lifter-rod f is attached, and aspring, g, attached to the lever. In operation, the cam, by contact withthe upper surface of the lever, induces a downward movement of thelifter, and the spring induces the return or upward movement.

In Figr4 the lifter is mounted on its rod, as in Fig. 3; but the lowerend of its rod f is connected with a crank-plate, d', and this rodslides in a swiveled guide, as at h, so that made to move in a circularline in a vertical plane, during which movement it advances with itsteeth toward and among the teeth of the main comb, at their bases, intoor below the noil, thence upward until the noil is fully engaged withthe teeth of the auxiliary comb, thencebackward,leavingthenoil,thencedownward and forward as before, and so on,repeating these movements in regular and continuous succession. Thelifter-head, as its teeth mesh with those of the combs, should becapable of au axial movement on its rod, so that as the combs revolvethe lifter may continue in its engagement with their teeth, andtherefore said head is mounted so that it can partially revolve on itsrod f with either of the two combs, when its teeth are meshed therewith,and in order that it may resume its normal position,when freed from thecombs, e

a small spiral or other spring is employed.

I have termed the transferring-comb D a lifter, because it lifts thenoil from one comb to another in that class of machines in f .which thenoil is carried on a comb having teeth which project upward. twill beobvi-l ous, however, if the noil be carried o na main comb, having teethwhich point downward, that the teeth of the auxiliary comb shouldproject upward, in which case the lifter would have a series ofmovements reversed from the order described, so that it. could transferthe noil from the main to the auxiliary combby a downward movement.

E denotesan auxiliary drawing-ofil mechanisin, which, by means of itsrolls and apron, takes only the long wool from the n oil, which iscarried by thev auxiliary comb, and delivers it in suitable conditionfor recarding or recombing, as may be desired. I prefer that the apronand rolls be setA vertically, andthe vlatter be so set with relation tothe vteethnf comb G that they will engage only with the long wool in thenoil. A blow-pipe, with its nozzle pointing downward adjacentvto vthedrawing-apron near the rear of the rolls, as indicated in dotted linesin Figs. 1 and 2, will blow the wool from the apron downward into a canplaced to receive it.

It is to be understood that the noil is refor removing the noil from theordinary combs-as, for instance, in the Lister machine-but no suchmechanism is shown in the drawings.

The operation of a machine provided with my improvements is as follows:The wool is 'fed to and the mainv portion of the long staple drawn fromthe main comb by any suitable mechanism. After the teeth of the maincomb have passed the drawing-off mechanism most of the long woolprojecting from the front side of the comb has been removed. On v theopposite or rear side of the-teeth, however, there is in the noilconsiderable long wool as the crank-plate revolves the lifter-head iswhich projects inwardly, and it will be seen,

y when the noil is transferred to the auxiliary comb, that these longbers of wool project outwardly therefrom, and are in a position whichenables the rolls to engage with and draw them from the noil. The shortwool in the noil is, of course, finer than the long wool, and theseparation of the longfrom the short, not only results in a desirableuniformity of fineness in the noil, but also in apractical uniformity inthe length of the wool composing it. The noil is therefore better fittedfor the uses to which such wool is applied, and the long Wool removedtherefrom by reason of my invention is rendered available for those usesin which a long staple is a desirable feature.

I dov not limit my invention to any precise construction of themechanism shown and described; but

What I claim as new', and vdesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a wool-combing machine, the combination, with the main combingmechanism and themain drawing-oftl mechanism, of an auxiliary comb and atransferring-'combor ism, substantially as described, whereby the noilis transferred from the main comb to the auxiliary comb, and the longwool removed from the noil, as set forth.

LEON ABD SMITH.

' Witnesses T. C. CHINN, R. RICHARDSON.

